Spent over an hour on public transit to get to Hermosa for lunch. After arriving I was told that food orders can only be placed online for pickup and that it must be done at least one day in advance. Their website does not mention this policy anywhere and should be added so customers know.
mahmoud anagreh
Big disappointment! I drove an hour to try this place to find they do pre orders already! Obviously very poor managed not to update their informations online.
Joel Frieders
I’ve never been more impressed or inspired by a meal before experiencing Hermosa. Chef Ethan served course after course of the most beautiful and flavorful foods I’ve ever had slid in front of me. I can’t wait to go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tori V.
I have to give Hermosa one star simply based on their inconsistent and confusing hours of operation. Their website states that they are closed every day except for Thursday's 6:30pm-6:40pm. However, if you try to place an online order, the website states that you can pick it up as early as 12:00pm on Wednesday (one of the days that they are supposedly closed). What's even more confusing is that Google states that they are open Wednesday-Friday 12-3pm. I will give them the benefit of the doubt as restaurants may not be able to update the information on Google directly, but there also wasn't any hours located on the building itself when we arrived. We made the journey from Texas to eat there today since the hours on Google showed they were open. My partner is Cambodian and was looking forward to eating at Hermosa and this was a disappointing experience, overall.
Paul S
Not open to the public. Don't waste your time going here.
Ivan Sarabia
Went for the family dinner. It's a very intimate space as soon as you walk in. Ethan and staff are so friendly and accommodating. We were greeted with some crunchy thin beef jerky and a spicy sauce. Salmon rillete and fresh spring veggies, followed by an 18 hour crunch potato with tartare and roe (my favorite large bite) a nice scallop akin to me like an aguachile. A really earthy curry soup with fresh hers and sans coconut milk. Then came the fried chicken and sides. The fried chicken was every by as good as advertised with the nice flavor and my kee go to fried chicken sauce (lime and fresh black pepper). A nicely fried fresh fish followed by a huge ribeye. Closed off with a dulce de leche ice cream.It's been my meal of the year as of June 23. I have told everyone to try to secure the very difficult reservation. Well worth the wait
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Heather Barness-Blakeman
Wow—the service, the quality, the atmosphere…I don’t know what topped what. The private dinner for 8 was as warm and welcoming as it was delicious and impressive. Can’t wait to have another reason to go back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Philm C.
One star because I've lost count how many times I've tried to eat here. Six months ago I was laughed at because you didn't update your Yelp hours. Today, even though the lights were on, and someone was inside and made eye contact with me, you couldn't even bother to open the door and let me know what hours you ARE open. Food looks good but not sure if I'll ever know!
J Xia
Excited to finally get this place as they are having their fried and grilled chicken available now for take out for $24. I got the fried option and the chicken was crispy and very flavorful. It was definitely brined. The chicken came with 2 sides that you can choose from and I got papaya salad and eggplant salad. They were ok, very salty and less flavor than anticipated. I also got the griddled rice as a side which was awesome. Try this when you get a chance as their other option is the family dinner which is kind of hard to get a reservation for and quite pricy.
Nadia Viderique
This place is a treasure. The food is amazing and I hope to come back soon.
Everything was great at this place. Starting from the environment and decor in the restaurant.
Steven N.
This was honestly the most unique thing I've had in Chicago. It's not a staple of Chicago, but it's one of those restaurants that is unique and highlights a diversified cuisine in Chicago. Like some reviewers said, it's restaurant is easily missed because it is SMALL and is a takeout spot. There's not a dine in option, which is surprising because I'm sure many people would love the opportunity to dine in, but I guess it's due to COVID and that the place is limited. Now onto the Cambodian fried chicken sandwich, it was SO GOOD! It gets highlighted as combines southeast Asian flavoring in an American style chicken sandwich. The flavors were plentiful and very complementary. It definitely stood out as the unique in a city known for pizza and hotdogs. The fries were also pretty good. Food definitely stellar. I will admit that the pride is a little on the expensive side, but since I was visiting and not a local, I was willing to pay a bit more than if I was a local. Also be aware that a 15% tip is automatically added to the bill. I honestly don't like that because usually tipping is an option. Whether you're okay with the tip being defaulted, just know that it CAN be adjusted to either another percentage or even taken off completely , but I think the default should be $0 with an option to add tip as opposed to automatically 15%. Also, for being the only person it sure took a while to get my food. I'm glad I wasn't in a hurry and didn't mind waiting at all, but I caution people that are on a timely schedule. So definitely check this place out, nice owner, and STELLAR food!
Young Choi
One of the best fried chicken sandwiches I've ever had. This was fantastic
Stacey C.
This review is for dinner at Hermosa which was a magical and intimate experience - one that's booked 6-8 months out. Dining here feels like eating dinner at a friend's home, it's cozy and you're the only ones in the restaurant. Chef's tasting menu is centered around his Cambodian heritage and we really enjoyed the flavors, the balance of fresh herbs/veggies with the fried chicken, lobster with crab paste and tomahawk steak. One of my favorite dishes was chef's mom's homemade sausage. Everything was so delicious and we left with full stomachs and hearts. At the end, chef hand wrote the menus for us! Hope to have the opportunity to dine here again.
Gaining Ahora
I know alot of people enjoy the Cambodian chicken sandwich and I recommend it, one big tasty sandwich.
Spent over an hour on public transit to get to Hermosa for lunch. After arriving I was told that food orders can only be placed online for pickup and that it must be done at least one day in advance. Their website does not mention this policy anywhere and should be added so customers know.
Big disappointment! I drove an hour to try this place to find they do pre orders already! Obviously very poor managed not to update their informations online.
I’ve never been more impressed or inspired by a meal before experiencing Hermosa. Chef Ethan served course after course of the most beautiful and flavorful foods I’ve ever had slid in front of me. I can’t wait to go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I have to give Hermosa one star simply based on their inconsistent and confusing hours of operation. Their website states that they are closed every day except for Thursday's 6:30pm-6:40pm. However, if you try to place an online order, the website states that you can pick it up as early as 12:00pm on Wednesday (one of the days that they are supposedly closed). What's even more confusing is that Google states that they are open Wednesday-Friday 12-3pm. I will give them the benefit of the doubt as restaurants may not be able to update the information on Google directly, but there also wasn't any hours located on the building itself when we arrived. We made the journey from Texas to eat there today since the hours on Google showed they were open. My partner is Cambodian and was looking forward to eating at Hermosa and this was a disappointing experience, overall.
Not open to the public. Don't waste your time going here.
Went for the family dinner. It's a very intimate space as soon as you walk in. Ethan and staff are so friendly and accommodating. We were greeted with some crunchy thin beef jerky and a spicy sauce. Salmon rillete and fresh spring veggies, followed by an 18 hour crunch potato with tartare and roe (my favorite large bite) a nice scallop akin to me like an aguachile. A really earthy curry soup with fresh hers and sans coconut milk. Then came the fried chicken and sides. The fried chicken was every by as good as advertised with the nice flavor and my kee go to fried chicken sauce (lime and fresh black pepper). A nicely fried fresh fish followed by a huge ribeye. Closed off with a dulce de leche ice cream.It's been my meal of the year as of June 23. I have told everyone to try to secure the very difficult reservation. Well worth the wait
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wow—the service, the quality, the atmosphere…I don’t know what topped what. The private dinner for 8 was as warm and welcoming as it was delicious and impressive. Can’t wait to have another reason to go back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One star because I've lost count how many times I've tried to eat here. Six months ago I was laughed at because you didn't update your Yelp hours. Today, even though the lights were on, and someone was inside and made eye contact with me, you couldn't even bother to open the door and let me know what hours you ARE open. Food looks good but not sure if I'll ever know!
Excited to finally get this place as they are having their fried and grilled chicken available now for take out for $24. I got the fried option and the chicken was crispy and very flavorful. It was definitely brined. The chicken came with 2 sides that you can choose from and I got papaya salad and eggplant salad. They were ok, very salty and less flavor than anticipated. I also got the griddled rice as a side which was awesome. Try this when you get a chance as their other option is the family dinner which is kind of hard to get a reservation for and quite pricy.
This place is a treasure. The food is amazing and I hope to come back soon.
Restaurantji Recommends
Everything was great at this place. Starting from the environment and decor in the restaurant.
This was honestly the most unique thing I've had in Chicago. It's not a staple of Chicago, but it's one of those restaurants that is unique and highlights a diversified cuisine in Chicago. Like some reviewers said, it's restaurant is easily missed because it is SMALL and is a takeout spot. There's not a dine in option, which is surprising because I'm sure many people would love the opportunity to dine in, but I guess it's due to COVID and that the place is limited. Now onto the Cambodian fried chicken sandwich, it was SO GOOD! It gets highlighted as combines southeast Asian flavoring in an American style chicken sandwich. The flavors were plentiful and very complementary. It definitely stood out as the unique in a city known for pizza and hotdogs. The fries were also pretty good. Food definitely stellar. I will admit that the pride is a little on the expensive side, but since I was visiting and not a local, I was willing to pay a bit more than if I was a local. Also be aware that a 15% tip is automatically added to the bill. I honestly don't like that because usually tipping is an option. Whether you're okay with the tip being defaulted, just know that it CAN be adjusted to either another percentage or even taken off completely , but I think the default should be $0 with an option to add tip as opposed to automatically 15%. Also, for being the only person it sure took a while to get my food. I'm glad I wasn't in a hurry and didn't mind waiting at all, but I caution people that are on a timely schedule. So definitely check this place out, nice owner, and STELLAR food!
One of the best fried chicken sandwiches I've ever had. This was fantastic
This review is for dinner at Hermosa which was a magical and intimate experience - one that's booked 6-8 months out. Dining here feels like eating dinner at a friend's home, it's cozy and you're the only ones in the restaurant. Chef's tasting menu is centered around his Cambodian heritage and we really enjoyed the flavors, the balance of fresh herbs/veggies with the fried chicken, lobster with crab paste and tomahawk steak. One of my favorite dishes was chef's mom's homemade sausage. Everything was so delicious and we left with full stomachs and hearts. At the end, chef hand wrote the menus for us! Hope to have the opportunity to dine here again.
I know alot of people enjoy the Cambodian chicken sandwich and I recommend it, one big tasty sandwich.